Category Coordinated disinformation

No, Ukrainian fans were not responsible for Nazi graffiti at the World Cup

Numerous accounts on Twitter and Telegram have been sharing a video they say is a report by Al Jazeera showing Nazi graffiti left by Ukrainian football fans during the kickoff game of the World Cup in Qatar on November 20. The media outlet, however, says that they didn"t make this video. Moreover, a number of clues haveÂ allowed us to establish that thisÂ is a fake news report and that the Nazi graffiti was, in fact, photoshopped.

November 28, 2022
Coordinated disinformation Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Faked news reports Hatred and bigotry Methods Misconceptions Nazism Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine

No, the Ukrainian president did not write a book called ‘Mein Kampf’

Is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the author of a new book entitled "Mein Kampf", or "My Struggle", using the same graphic design as Adolf Hitler's manifesto? This is what many people online have been claiming to be the case since October 19, 2022. But theÂ photos they use as proof are actually just photoshopped using old images. While the Ukrainian president is indeed preparing to release a book, it has a totally different title and cover design.

Deadly floods submerge Nigeria, and misinformation accuses Ukraine of “staging” war – The Observers

A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.

Misinformation accuses Ukraine of ‘staging’ the war – The Observers

Since the Russian war in Ukraine began, misinformation has been spreading widely. And one of the narratives we've seen again and again is the idea that Ukraine has been "staging" atrocities to sway public opinion in Western media outlets. Here's a closer look at three videos we've seen and debunked.

Fact check: Russia’s false case for a dirty bomb in Ukraine

Russia's Foreign Ministry has published photos purporting to prove that Ukraine is building a dirty bomb. In truth, the photos are of entirely different things - including reactors in Russia.

October 28, 2022
Coordinated disinformation Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine

Is Ukraine really developing a dirty bomb? Be careful of Russian claims

Ukraine is apparently in the process of developing a so-called dirty bomb - a bomb containing radioactive elements - or, at least, that's the narrative that Moscow has been peddling since October 23, 2022. The Russian Ministry of Defence posted these claims to Telegram and Twitter, along with illustrated documents meant to support these claims. But the images published in these documents are old and some of them were even taken in Russia.

Debunking Russia’s ‘dirty bomb’ allegations – Truth or Fake

Russia recently accused Ukraine of fabricating a "dirty bomb". These allegations were made on official Kremlin Telegram and Twitter accounts, accompanied by explanatory slides that seemed to implicitly support their claims. However, we found that many of the images are unrelated to the accusations. For example, some of the images presented as Ukrainian nuclear plants are actually Russian nuclear facilities. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

October 26, 2022
Coordinated disinformation Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Russia Ukraine

Were these Ukrainians staging a fake battle scene? Nope, it’s a music video

Pro-Russian social media accounts have been widely circulating a video over the past few weeks that shows a man dressed as a Ukrainian soldier acting out a scene in front of a camera. These accounts have claimed this video is proof that people are staging scenes of theÂ war in Ukraine. Turns out, however, the video was filmed during the shooting of a music video by a Ukrainian artist whose music represents the "pain of war".

No, these photos don’t prove that Zelensky is filming his videos in front of a green screen

Pro-Russian social media accounts have been circulating photos and a video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky standing in front of a green screen, claiming that this image offers proof that the videos that he publishes on social media are filmed in a studio and not on the ground as claimed. However, these pictures don"t prove anything of the sortÂ -Â they were taken during a forum where the president appeared as a hologram.

Crimea bridge blast — what’s real, and what’s fake?

A truck, a boat and an ID card - the search for clues after the Crimea bridge explosion is mired with fakes. One particularly clumsy deception comes from the Russian secret service, as our fact check shows.